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| Khadijah |
Last year, Khadija Shah was apprehended under suspicion
of carrying a suitcase that contained $4.75 million worth (approximately 63
kilograms) of pure Afghan heroin through Islamabad Airport.
The 25-year-old
Birmingham resident claimed to have been given the bag by two men, most likely
members of a drug smuggling ring who had been complicit in grooming her for
months, if not years.
Antinarcotics officers were notified that she would be carrying
the shipment and she was arrested immediately.
In Pakistan, the death penalty
is applicable to anyone charged with carrying more than one kilogram of heroin,
entitling Shah to be hanged—the country's preferred method of execution—63
times over.
A moratorium on executions had been put in place by the Pakistan
Peoples Party (formerly led by Benazir Bhutto) in 2008, but yesterday that was lifted,
opening Shah up to the real possibility of losing her life.
However, her trial
opened in March and is still some way away from reaching a verdict. In the
meantime, she's being detained at Pakistan’s infamously unhygienic Adiala
jail, where she's been held since her arrest.
Enduring these circumstances would be traumatic for anyone, but
Khadija’s story is exceptionally troubling due to the direct involvement of her
small children. At the time of her arrest, Khadija had her five-year-old son,
Ibrahim, and four-year-old daughter, Aleesha, in tow. She was also six months
pregnant, and gave birth to her baby daughter Malaika during a one-day respite
from prison in October last year.
The two older children were eventually released and returned
home to Birmingham. But, to date, Khadija’s youngest daughter hasn’t spent a
day outside of the prison’s walls, and there's no immediate timeframe set for
her return. That’s because, in Pakistan, there is no legal prohibition against
keeping babies in prison. Despite aggressive outbreaks of measles and
tuberculosis, Malaika has also not received any form of immunization, while
Khadija doesn't have access to sterilizing equipment, bottles, or formula milk.
In a previous interview, she explained that there is no cot and that she and
her daughter share a raised bunk. She also added that Malaika is often bitten
by mosquitoes and keeps the other women in the cell awake most of the night
with her crying.
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